Pigeon Post

We have a number of students at Balmain Public School that have severe allergies/anaphylactic reactions to different foods; in particular, nuts.

Anaphylaxis is a potentially life threatening, severe allergic reaction and should always be treated as a medical emergency. Anaphylaxis occurs after exposure to an allergen (usually to foods, insects or medicines), to which a person is allergic. Not all people with allergies are at risk of anaphylaxis.

We ask, on behalf of our students who are at risk, that you please refrain from supplying your child/ren with nuts or nut products in their lunch boxes, or for school activities, such as birthday cakes, end-of-term/year parties or cupcakes for fundraising.

All parents/carers can encourage their child to avoid sharing or trading food and eating utensils. Encouraging children to wash their hands after eating may also be helpful to avoid mild allergy symptoms such as a skin rash. It is also helpful to tell children to get help from a teacher or other adult if another child looks unwell, even if they do not know what is wrong with them. Older children can be taught about food allergies and anaphylaxis at appropriate times and of ways they can support their peers to avoid risk foods and to be safe. Our staff will reiterate this.

We thank you in advance for your understanding and assistance in supporting these children at risk of anaphylactic reactions.

As you are aware, SkoolBag is the main form of communication at Balmain Public School. We are currently updating our email contacts, as some families seem to have multiple emails, whilst others have only 1. The school disseminates important information, via the SkoolBag app and email, so we want to ensure that we have all your up-to-date details.

If you have been receiving SkoolBag notifications to particular email addresses which you wish to change, or add to, please complete below. If there is no change to your current email addresses that SkoolBag has on file, please disregard.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScQfPOaKodUw7vvDkON92XFQQtP9f3pdREK1g9JeJF3og64Qg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Thank you.

Hi and happy new year!

I hope you’ve had a wonderful break and are ready for what is shaping up to be an exciting new school year.

Welcome to all our new families, especially our littlest cohorts! My last baby started kindy last year, so I understand how bittersweet that first day can be. Hang in there, they’ve joined the absolute best school with an amazing community to support them and you!

Despite the weirdness of 2020, the P&C managed to score a number of wins for the school including:

• Endorsing a new Climate and Sustainability action plan;
• Winning a $5,500 grant for new solar panels as part of the 2020 Community Building Partnership program;
• Encouraging a statewide change to allow zoom as an option for P&C meetings;
• Funding new bike racks;
• Organising free local coffee for teachers during remote learning;
• Funding in classroom resources worth $15,000, reading aid support worth $15,000, IT/Steam contributions over and above the IT levy worth $20,000 and readers as well as library and maths resources worth $10,000; and
• Raising $21,200 during the fantastic Virtual Trivia Night in November.    

Just before Christmas, we also organised the wonderful Salvation Army Giving Ceremony. We were blown away by how generous our school community was and want to thank everyone who got involved. Not only did parents donate a van full of gifts, but we were also the only school on the Peninsula who made a donation to the Salvos at that time. They were incredibly thankful and moved. We are keen to see this event become a permanent fixture in the school calendar.

This year, we want to prioritise hosting our much-loved events, pandemic pending. The school is likely to remain off limits for a while so we’re looking at alternate venues. Our first event for the year is always our Welcome Drinks and more information about that will be coming out shortly.

We are also moving our P&C meetings to our local pubs. Zoom will still be an option if you can’t attend in person. Our first meeting for this year is at 7pm on Wed 10 Feb at the Bald Rock, so please mark that in your diary.

One of the first actions the P&C took in 2020 was endorsing our Climate and Sustainability plan but then COVID happened! So, while our progress in implementing actions has been slower than we’d like, we are ready to get going again in 2021 and looking for your help to do so. If you are keen to be part of a Climate and Sustainability Subcommittee of the P&C please email us at balmainpspc@gmail.com. Our target is to become the most sustainable school in the Inner West by 2025.

We are also ready to move forward with our work on a 2021 to 2024 P&C strategy and will be seeking your feedback soon before it is finalised. The strategy will make clear what the priorities are for the P&C and help us answer questions such as ‘what resources do we want to invest in and how do we want to raise those funds? Which are the events that people want to see continue and the level of commitment/ volunteering we need to make it all happen?' etc.

Finally, research shows that the more a parent is involved in their child’s education, the more the child benefits and best of all, your volunteering will make your child proud. Children absolutely love seeing their parents at their school or at school events.

We really want to encourage you to get involved this year - come to P&C meetings and have your say on future policies and priorities for the school, give us your feedback and please volunteer for different events or projects.

If you have any questions/ ideas/ feedback for us, please email balmainpspc@gmail.com

Thanks!

The P&C Executive - Shehana Darda-Teixeira (Luca in Yr 6 & Sunny in Yr 1), Victoria Lush (Harry in Yr 6), Cliff Philipah (Logan in Yr 6) & Paul Galpin (Jasper in Yr 1)

Our uniform stall is a P&C initiative, run entirely by parent volunteers, to benefit our school community!

Ordering: Orders are being packed and delivered to classrooms weekly.

• Please include your child's name and class for delivery
• Secondhand items can be ordered through the online store
• There is no order pickup from the stall or the office, unless by prior arrangement
• Appointments can be made to visit the stall in order to try on items for size. Details can be found on the school website.

Orders can be placed online at the following link:

https://bps-uniform-stall.square.site

Stock levels: Due to COVID-related delays continuing to affect our suppliers, a small number of items are out of stock. We are receiving deliveries each week, and this stock is quickly being added online. Outstanding items are being packed and delivered to class as they are received. If a longer delay is anticipated for an item, we are moving quickly to source an alternative through a second supplier where possible, to minimise the impact on the school. If you cannot see an item you need, please email the stall volunteers to enquire: balmainpsuniforms@gmail.com

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you would like to volunteer to help at the stall, please email us!

Australian Youth Mentoring Foundation, Raise is currently recruiting volunteers from the local community to mentor young people at Balmain and Leichhardt Secondary Colleges. The program at Balmain SSC runs on a Tuesday between 11.20am-1.20pm and the program at Leichhardt SSC runs on a Thursday between 11.30am-1.30pm.

From vulnerable and at risk of disengagement to resilient and confident – our youth mentoring programs are proven to help young people thrive. Raise matches members from the local community with selected young people at Balmain and Leichhardt SSC for a supported one-to-one mentoring experience.

To become a Raise youth mentor, all you need is a desire to make a difference. Raise provides you with expert training and once matched with a student in your community, the program is structured, managed and supported by a qualified Raise counsellor. Could you, or someone you know volunteer your time to mentor at Balmain or Leichhardt SSC starting in April 2021? 

To ensure the best outcomes for our young people, Raise requires mentors to be:

• 21+ years old
• Available for 2 hours each week during school hours on a Tuesday or Thursday
• Able to attend at the same time every week to mentor a young person between April and October (excluding school holidays)
• Able to complete 6 online training modules (approx 3-4 hours) and 5 hours of group training
• Provide a Working with Children Check and a Police Check

Head to www.raise.org.au/mentor to find out more and become a Raise mentor today.

There are still some places in all our Girls teams from U8 - U16 but particularly in need of girls in the U9, U11, and U16 teams

Our club has a strong focus on building self confidence, fitness and skill in all individual players who then work together to build a team of players who play fairly and competitively. We offer a Junior Ref program as well - where teenage players can learn the ropes of reffing junior teams on a Saturday morning, school holiday clinics and a junior Summer football program, including a Mini Roos kick-off program for 4 to 7 year-olds.We have also thrice won the Canterbury district Fair Play Award in 2010, 2012 and 2018 which reflects the Saint’s approach to the values of good sportsmanship -  “Compete fiercely, win modestly, lose graciously”.

We all know how keeping our girls active and fit through their teenage years helps with every part of their lives - be it academically, socially, physically, emotionally and mentally - basically playing football ticks all the boxes.